Pros
ADP is a large company. Their sales training is some of the best I have ever seen. They have a process for virtually everything. There is money to be made here IF you are in the right situation. I will take a moment to clarify that. They keep a "bench" of new hires in case they have to replace an underperforming sales professional. They can also be replaced if someone leaves the company. Well the position that a "bench" person goes into is decided by the position that is vacated. If the position vacated is an underperforming territory then that is what you will receive. If you are fortunate to receive a Client District Manager role, then you will have a higher propensity for success. We have two client DM's currently at or well above 150% YTD. The other "hunter" roles are hovering collectively around 60% YTD. There is not that type of disparity in skillset between the two groups. You may also receive an ASO (ADP Resource Rep) responsibility. In this role, you have the ability to call anywhere in the metropolitan area. This means that you can call in anyone's territory to secure business. This is an excellent set up for that particular representative. Once again, in order to be placed in this role, a "bench" person has to be next in line. It is pretty much circumstance that has a strong impact on whether or not you are successful. The benefits could be a little better. There are some very talented sales professionals that work here. Overall, I love the concept of the products that we sell. It is a consultative sale and can be a very lucrative position if you are placed in the right situation with regard to territory. The local management team is nice and they work as best as they can with what they know. I do appreciate that.
Cons
The playing field is not balanced. In any sales environment where territories are predicated on zip code assignments, there are good zip codes as well as bad zip codes. I will take a moment to clarify what the difference is. If you are fortunate to have a territory where the majority of your assigned zip codes have thriving businesses going in and very few businesses moving out coupled with "high rent" tenants in a corporate environment, then you are probably in pretty good shape. The reason that I say this is because typically if a company is in an affluent part of town there is a reason for that...........They want to attract the right level of talent. They typically want to retain the talent that they attract. They care about looking prestigious etc. These are the types of companies that are more apt to entertain self service modules and cutting edge technology. These companies are accustomed to spending money as a part of doing business. They also want to screen their applicants more. They understand the need to offer a 401K. These types of companies seem to grasp the concept of employee engagement and maximizing their human capital etc. If you are placed in a down trodden dilapidated group of zip codes then you are going to have a much harder go of it. Typically there is a reason that these companies reside in "low rent" districts. They do not have the money for what they perceive as the "extras". Many of them do not care about self service modules for their personnel. Nor do they care about perks etc. I am not saying that you will not find a few companies that do, but by and large it will be extremely difficult for these perceived "nice to haves" to find a place at these kinds of businesses with the mentality that several of them possess. It is rare that a progressive minded and successful C-Level Executive will leave an environment that fosters that concept in favor of a down trodden, smaller, non-strategic thinking company. Again, you may find very few exceptions, but for the most part this does not occur. A strategic thinking executive may want to increase employee engagement in many different facets and align company goals in various departments to TRULY maximize their human capital. Meanwhile in some of these non-progressive, low rent districts you may encounter a sign in the break room above the light switch that read "Please make sure you turn off the light when you leave" That is their idea of maximizing their resources and saving on the bottom line. The overall goal at ADP should be to have a nice mix of both. In my experiences I am seeing that a select few are "top heavy" in favor of having the majority of these "growth, upswing and progressive zip codes" When I asked management what criteria went into how territories were constructed, I was given the answer "This is the way that it has always been". In most sales departments at ADP, you will have the "haves" and the "have nots" This is where things become political. I can see what some of my peers are talking about. I believe some "situations" with regard to territory allocation have been manipulated over the years in favor of certain sales professionals and their manager. The process has been bastardized......Furthermore, several of the sales professionals that have these "rich" territories are simply hoarding the opportunities. Their overall opportunity is so robust that they do not have to cold call, do as many drops or list new businesses to be added to their database. If you are one of the unfortunate persons that receives an undesirable territory, you will have to work nearly twice as hard by doing the aforementioned tasks at a pace that is not fair and equitable.
